Felix Schlag won $1,000 in a competition with 390 artists for the design of the Jefferson nickel.

All of the Jefferson nickels, except the "war nickels" were made of copper and nickel. Starting in October of 1942 through 1945 nickel was removed from the coin and was used for the war effort. During the same time, there was a slight design change. The mint mark was increased in size and place above the dome, and nickels made at the Philadelphia mint had their mint mark "P" on them. In 1946 the P mint mark was removed again.